Francisco Gattorno

Infobox actor
name = Francisco Gattorno


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caption = Francisco Gattorno
birthdate = birth date and age|1964|10|12
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birthname = Francisco Alejandro Gattorno Sánchez
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homepage =
occupation = Actor
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Francisco Alejandro Gattorno Sánchez (born October 12, 1964), better known in the show business world plainly as Francisco Gattorno, is a famous Cuban actor in Mexico. A native of Santa Clara, Cuba, Gattorno earned Mexican citizenship during the early 2000s.

Biography

Francisco Gattorno grew in Santa Clara as a baseball fan. He also became interested in acting and directing as a young man. As a child, Gattorno became very fond of Cuban customs, such as Cuban music and sports. It was acting and directing, however, that occupied his interests more. Because of that, Gattorno studied acting, both at home in Cuba and in Mexico.

In 1985, 21 year old Gattorno made his film debut, participating as "Miguel" in a Cuban production, "Una Novia para David" ("A Girlfriend for David").

Three years passed, before Gattorno got his next job in this media, in "El Verano de la Señora Forbes" ("The Summer of Miss Forbes"). "El Verano de la Señora Forbes" gave Gattorno his first exposition in Mexico and was also seen in the Netherlands. In 1989 he played a small role in 1989's "Papeles Secundarios" ("Secondary Roles").

His next job took him to Spain, as he participated in the 1992 Cuban-Spaniard production "Me Alquilo Para Soñar" ("I was Rented for a Dream").

In 1993, Gattorno proceeded to work on another Cuban film, "Sueño Tropical" ("Tropical Dream"). Gattorno was by then a well known actor in Cuba. His salaries, however, were comparatively small compared to those of well known actors in other Latin American countries.

Gattorno travelled to Chile before 1993 was over, to participate in filmmaker Paola Castillo's short production, "Los Perros Tambien Tienen Hambre" ("Dogs Also Get Hungry"). "Los Perros Tambien Tienen Hambre" runs for an approximate total of four minutes.

1994 was a breakthrough year for Gattorno: He moved to Mexico, participating in the well known film "Fresa y Chocolate" ("Strawberry and Chocolate"), a film about a homosexual who falls in love with a communist man. Gattorno played "Miguel" in "Fresa y Chocolate".

Having established himself in Mexico, Gattorno debuted on Televisa's telenovelas in 1995, acting as "Josè Maria" in "La Dueña", which loosely translated into English means "The (female) Owner". In "La Dueña", Gattorno acted alongside well-known Mexican actors such as Angelica Rivera, Salvador Sánchez and Eduardo Santamarina, among others. He also met his future wife, Cynthia Klitbo, at the time, a buddying star herself.

In 1996, Gattorno acted alongside another list of well known actors, including Costa Rican Maribel Guardia and Mexicans Joan Sebastian (Guardia's longtime husband), Olga Breeskin, Sebastian Ligarde, Claudio Báez, Itati Cantoral, César Bono, José Ángel Garcia, Carlos Miguel, Guadalupe Esparza (of the well known music group Bronco) and many others in "Tu y Yo" ("You and Me"), which became an international hit, becoming one of the most viewed shows among Hispanics in the United States.

"Tu y Yo" was followed by "Cañaveral de Pasiones", ("Passion Canaveral") where Gattorno acted alongside fellow Cuban César Èvora and other well known Mexican actors, such as Angélica Aragón and others. "Cañaveral de Pasiones" was an important stepping stone in Gattorno's career; after this soap opera was over, many media outlets began to talk about his relationship with Klitbo, with whom he did not have any children.

In 1998, Gattorno participated in an action film, "Engaño Mortal" ("Deadly Lie"). He also acted as "Alvaro San Roman" in a telenovela named "Preciosa" ("Precious One"). Gattorno and Èvora acted together once again in 1999's "Laberintos de Pasion" ("Passion Labyrinths"). "Laberintos de Pasion" was another major Televisa hit, by then, Gattorno had become a sex symbol among females in Mexico and Latin America, and among Hispanic females in the United States. He also participated that year in "Entre la Tarde y la Noche" ("Between Afternoon and Night").

Gattorno and Klithbo eventually divorced; Gattorno's fame kept growing, and, in 2000, he made his Hollywood debut, as "Jorge Camacho" in the low budget film "Before Night Falls".

Gattorno then travelled to Colombia in 2001, to play "Andres Bustamante" in "Amantes del Desierto" ("Lovers of the Desert"). Soon after, he met Belmaris Gònzalez Suazo, a Cuban ballet dancer. Gònlalez Suazo would become Gattorno's second wife. The couple share two daughters, Isabella and Carolina Alicia.

Gattorno continued his 2001 work with "El Noveno Mandamiento" ("The Ninth Commandment").

During 2002, Gattorno participated in a telenovela that was geared towards [teenagers and which became a major hit: alongside Daniela Lujan, Belinda Peregrin, Laura Flores and former Menudo Johnny Lozada, among others, Gattorno acted in "Cómplices al rescate" ("Accomplices to the Rescue"), a romantic story about youngsters trying to repair some broken relationships.

By then, Gattorno's fame had made him appear on the covers of some major Spanish language magazines in the United States. Gattorno finished 2002 (and began 2003) acting in another major teenage telenovela hit, "Clase 406", where he acted alongside Michelle Vieth.

Gattorno then took a one year and a half hiatus from telenovelas. He used this time off, however, to appear on Don Francisco's talk show "Don Francisco Presenta", on February 4 2004. On April 8, he appeared alongside Raul De Molina and Lili Estefan in their gossip show, "El Gordo y La Flaca", and he co-hosted "El Escandalo del Mediodia" ("The Midday Scandal") alongside Charytin, from August 16 to August 20. he returned to telenovela acting, characterizing "Federico" in "Las Lloronas" ("The Crying Women"), and appeared in Cristina Saralegui's show during "El Show de Cristina"'s Christmas special in December of that year.

In September 2004 he began a relationship with the Spanish Repertory Theatre of New York (aka as Repertorio Español) debuting there as the Lector (Juan Julián) in the World Premiere in Spanish of Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama "Ana en el trópico" (Anna in the Tropics) by Cuban Playwright, Nilo Cruz. The play gardnered critical acclaim and became part of the theater's repertory of plays. It has been playing ever since. Gattorno also played Miguel in the popular comedy titled "Las quiero a las dos" (I Love Them Both) by Ricardo Talesnik and also played a priest in "Escrito y Sellado" (Written and Sealed) by Venezuelan playwright Isaac Chocrón. All of these plays have were directed by Repertorio Español's Artistic Director and Co-Founder, René Buch, also Cuban.

In 2005, Gattorno hosted "Premios Lo Nuestro", an important award show seen all over Latin America. He also participated in two special editions of the show, named "Noche de Estrellas: Premios lo Nuestro" ("Night of the Stars: Lo Nuestro Awards") and "Lo que no se Vio de Premios lo Nuestro" ("Premios lo Nuestro Backstage").

In 2005, Gattorno was incorporated as a new Telemundo star in the network's original production " Tierra de Pasiones" ("Land of Passions") where he played the role of "Pablo Gonzalez" and shared credits with stars like Venezuelan actress Gabriela Spanic, Argentine actor Saul Lizaso and legendary Mexican actor and comedian Héctor Suárez.

Gattorno played "Roberto" in the 2005 movie "La Migra", which was titled "Murder on The Border" to English speaking audiences.

In 2006 Gattorno starred in the new Telemundo version of Julio Jimenez's, "La Viuda de Blanco" (Blanco's Widow) where he played the role of "Sebastian Blanco" and shared credits with Mexican actress Itati Cantoral

Gattorno owns property in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida.

External links

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